Dynamic Rate Control In WiFi Systems

ABSTRACT

A wireless device is configured to switch data rates to account for temporary channel conditions or device configuration errors. Pre-selected data rates, more likely to achieve maximum goodput, are stored in a data rate table. The data rate table contains candidate data rates for each pre-selected data rate in the data rate table. When probe transmissions using the preselected data rates fail, dynamic rate probing is utilized to determine a possible cause and extent of the problem. The dynamic rate probing scheme transmits probe transmissions using the candidate data rates and tracks success or failure of these probe transmissions. An analysis of the probe transmissions is used to indicate a possible cause and/or extent of the problematic condition and to determine whether there is a need to reconfigure the data rates in the data rate table.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/785,833, entitled “Dynamic RateControl In WiFi Systems”, filed on Mar. 14, 2013, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The IEEE 802.11 standards are used to formulate wireless local areanetworks (WLAN) within a radio frequency (RF) band by specifying acommunication protocol that attempts to achieve the maximum data rate.The IEEE 802.11 standard provides for multiple data rates at thephysical (PHY) layer. A data rate is identified by a modulation andcoding scheme (MCS) index. Each MCS index value is associated withvarious parameters, such as the number of the spatial streams, Nss,(e.g., 1-4), the choice of guard intervals (e.g., short or long),channel bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz), modulationtype (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM), and coding rate (e.g.,½, ¾, ⅚, ⅔). The data rate associated with a MCS index is based onspecific settings of the parameters. There are numerous MCS index valueswhere each MCS index value represents a different combination of thevarious settings of the parameters. However, the data rates indicated bythe MCS index value do not account for the real word dynamics of awireless network which suffer from conditions, such as link failures,random channel errors, link budget, etc.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A wireless device is configured to switch data rates to account fortemporary channel conditions or device configuration errors. A wirelessnetwork may suffer from poor link budget, random channel errors, linkfailures, and the like. A wireless device may have been configured withan incorrect number of spatial streams or experience real time failuresof one of its many antennas, thereby reducing the number of spatialstreams the device can support. When these conditions are detected, adynamic rate probing technique is used to determine a data rate that cancompensate for these conditions.

A data rate is identified based on a MCS index value. Each MCS indexvalue is associated with a fixed number of spatial streams, Nss, and amodulation and coding (MCS) type. When using a non-dynamic rate probingtechnique, a linear data rate table is configured with pre-selected datarates that are associated with a particular MCS type and number ofspatial streams, Nss. These rates in the linear rate table are usuallyjust a subset of all the supported rates. This subset of data rates areselected into the linear data rate table because they are more likely toachieve maximum goodput than other supported rates which are not in thelinear rate table at any given channel conditions, wherein goodput isdefined as the ratio of the expected delivered data payload to theexpected transmission time. Therefore, during a rate selectionprocedure, one only needs to select a rate from the linear rate table,ignoring all the other supported rates. Since the number of rates in thelinear rate table is usually much smaller than the number of allsupported rates, picking a rate from the linear rate table becomes muchsimpler and more straightforward than picking a rate from all supportedrates. However, at times, probe transmissions using the preselected datarates in the linear rate table may not achieve the better goodput than arate that is not in the linear rate table, thereby indicating a problemwithin the wireless network which may be attributable to variousconditions that may be temporary or long lasting. In this case, adynamic rate probing technique is used to determine a possible cause andthe extent of the problem.

The dynamic rate probing technique transmits probe transmissions usingdata rates associated with Nss and MCS values outside of the linear datarate table. The success or failure of the probe transmissions usingthese alternative candidate data rates, which are not in the originallinear rate table, is tracked. An analysis of the tracked probetransmissions is used to determine whether or not the data rates in thedata rate table need to be reconfigured. In the event some of the probetransmissions using the alternative candidate data rates succeed, theproblem may be semi-permanent thereby necessitating a need toreconfigure the original linear data rate table with the successfulalternate data rates.

At a later point in time, the once-unsuccessful data rates in theoriginal linear rate table may be re-probed and if successful, the datarate table may be reconfigured with the data rates from the originalconfiguration. When all probe transmissions using the alternativecandidate data rates fail, a temporary problem may exist and the datarate table is left intact. At a later time, the dynamic rate probingtechnique may be utilized again to re-analyze the channel conditions.

These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a readingof the following detailed description and a review of the associateddrawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of aspects as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating an exemplary linear rate table withpre-selected data rates represented by an Nss and a MCS value.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating two cases where probing is stuck fromachieving a higher data rate.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating exemplary alternative candidate datarates.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary data rate tablehaving a probe probability vector.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an exemplarydynamic rate probing technique.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a second embodiment of anexemplary dynamic rate probing technique.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless networkembodying the dynamic rate probing technique.

FIGS. 8A-8B are block diagrams illustrating exemplary wireless devicesoperating in accordance with the embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments pertain to a dynamic rate adaption techniquethat dynamically probes for a data rate based on the number of spatialstreams and a modulation and coding scheme in order to adjust to currentchannel conditions and device configuration errors. A wireless devicemay have been configured with an incorrect number of spatial streams orexperience real time failures of an antenna, thereby reducing the numberof spatial streams the device can support. The wireless network maysuffer from varying channel conditions, such as poor link budget, randomchannel errors, link failures, and the like.

The media access control (MAC) layer is configured to dynamically selecta rate to achieve maximum throughput based on the current channelconditions. Rate adaption is a technique that determines a data rate byestimating the channel quality and altering the transmission parametersto adjust to the current channel conditions. The variations in thewireless medium may be short-term or long-term depending on the natureof the channel condition. The effectiveness of the rate adaptiontechnique relies on the best values used to set the data rate.

In order to determine the data rate that will achieve the best goodputat a specific time, the current channel conditions need to be accessed.Goodput is the ratio of the expected delivered data payload to theexpected transmission time. Probe packets are transmitted from atransmitter using pre-selected data rates designed to cover typical andpredicted channel conditions. A probe packet uses a MCS index value thatis associated with a particular number of spatial streams, a particularmodulation and coding scheme, and a data rate. The pre-selected datarates stored in a data rate table are identified by a number of spatialstreams, Nss, and a number indicating the type of modulation and codingscheme used.

Transmission success is indicated by an acknowledgement (ACK) or blockacknowledgement (BA) sent back to the transmitter or by the packet errorrate (PER) being less than a threshold, for example, 50%. Failure isdetected by the lack of the ACK or by the PER exceeding a 50% threshold.The failure of achieving the maximum data rate set in the linear datarate table results in the probing being stuck. As described in moredetail below, the probing may become stuck at any of the data rates inthe linear data rate table.

The pre-selected data rates in the linear data rate table are chosenbased on offline simulations as well as over-the-air verificationtesting. However, the data rates in the data rate table may not besuitable for all environments. In some environments, a wireless devicemay be mis-configured or temporarily misplaced, making the data ratevalues specified in the data rate table useless. For example, a wirelessdevice may have two of its three antennas broken or non-operationalcausing the device to be effectively downgraded to a 1×1 device (i.e., 1receive antenna/receive chain and 1 transmit antenna/transmit chain). Ifthe data rate table is configured with incorrect data rates, eventemporarily, the consequences to the performance of the wireless networkcan be detrimental since data rates not in the data rate table are notconsidered. For example, in the case of a misconfigured 3×3 device(i.e., 3 receive antennas/receive chains and 3 transmitantennas/transmit chains) that is physically only capable of operatingas a 1×1 device, some of its supported one spatial-stream data rates maynot be in the misconfigured data rate table, since these 1×1 rates won'tgive the optimal goodput for an operational 3×3 device. For example, therates of 256-QAM with Nss=1 cannot be used by this misconfigured deviceas the originally configured rate table was optimized for 3×3 devicesnot for 1×1 devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary data rate graph showing data ratevalues, where each data rate value is configured as a combination of anumber of spatial streams, Nss and a MCS type. Each pair in the linearrate table corresponds to a data rate having been pre-selected as beingmost likely to achieve the best goodput at a given channel condition.The pairs may be selected from offline simulation studies of the trafficpattern and behavior of a wireless network under varying conditions. Asshown in FIG. 1, the following pairs have been pre-selected into thelinear rate table where each pair is of the format (number of spatialstreams/Nss, MCS type): (1,0); (1,1); (1,2); (1,3); (1,4); (1,5); (2,4);(2,5); (2,6); (2,7); (3,6); and (3,7). The pre-selected pairs may beincluded in a data rate table for use in analyzing current channelconditions. The following pairs have not been selected and are notincluded in the data rate table shown in FIG. 1: (1,6); (1,7); (1,8);(1,9); (2,0); (2,1); (2,2); (2,3); (2,8); (2,9); (3,0); (3,1); (3,2);(3,3); (3,4); (3,5); (3,8); (3,9).

The probe packets may be transmitted in a sequential order that startswith the lowest spatial stream and proceeds to the highest spatialstream. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the probe transmissions wouldfollow the following order: (1,0)-(1,5), (2,4)-(2,7), (3, 6)-(3,7). Attimes, a failure in a probe transmission may occur when an ACK is notreturned or the performance threshold is not met (e.g., packet errorrate (PER) being less than a 50% threshold) (collectively, “thresholdcriteria”).

FIG. 2 illustrates two cases of such failures with the data rate, Nss,and MCS values shown in FIG. 2. A failure may occur when probing ahigher data rate within the MCS dimension which is shown in FIG. 2 asCase 1. In Case 1, probing at (2, 6) resulted in the probe process stuckat (2, 5) when attempts to probe at the higher MCS dimension failed. Afailure in this case may be caused by a temporary condition such as linkbudget or channel correlation. A failure may also occur when probing ahigher data rate with the spatial stream dimension which is shown inFIG. 2 as Case 2. In Case 2, probing at (3,6) resulted in the probeprocess stuck at (2, 7) failing to achieve a higher data rate within thenext spatial stream. A failure in this case may be caused by a temporarycondition such as link budget or channel correlation or caused by asemi-permanent device configuration error.

In the event of a failure at either probing dimension (e.g., spatialstream or MCS index), candidate data rates, those outside of the datarate table, are dynamically probed to determine a possible cause of thefailure and extent of the problem. This information is then used todetermine an appropriate course of action. Turning to FIG. 3, thecandidate data rates are shown in the circular regions 302, 304, 306.The candidate data rates are higher rates than the pre-selected datarates in the linear rate table. As shown in FIG. 3, region 302 showspairs (1,6), (1,7), (1,8), and (1,9), region 304 shows pairs (2,8),(2,9), and region 306 shows pairs (3,8), (3,9). The dynamic probingtechnique considers these candidate data rates when probing gets stuckin either dimension.

Attention now turns to a discussion on the operations for theembodiments with reference to exemplary methods. It may be appreciatedthat the representative methods do not necessarily have to be executedin the order presented, or in any particular order, unless otherwiseindicated. Moreover, various activities described with respect to themethods can be executed in serial or parallel fashion, or anycombination of serial and parallel operations. The methods can beimplemented using one or more hardware elements and/or software elementsof the described embodiments or alternative embodiments as desired for agiven set of design and performance constraints. For example, themethods may be implemented as logic (e.g., program instructions,firmware) for execution by a logic device (e.g., a radio unit orspecific-purpose processor).

The methods discussed herein utilize a data rate table. FIG. 4illustrates an exemplary data rate table 402. The data rate table 402may have multiple entries, where each entry contains a candidate datarate as a pair in the format (number of spatial streams/Nss, MCS value).Each entry in the data rate table is associated with a probe probabilityvector (PPV) 404. A probe probability vector 404 contains one or morecandidate data rates 406, each of which is associated with a probabilityof success 408 (e.g., 90%/10%), a success counter 410 indicating thenumber of probed transmissions made during dynamic probing that weresuccessful, and an original entry indicator 412 indicating whether thecandidate data rate was in the original data rate table. The candidatedata rates are selected as the most likely data rates to succeed in theevent of data rate probing.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 for performing dynamic ratecontrol. It should be noted that the method shown in FIG. 5 may berepresentative of some or all of the operations executed by one or moreembodiments described herein and that the method can include more orless operations than that which is described.

Initially, time intervals T1, T2, and T3 are set to initial values(block 502). T1 is the time allotted for performing dynamic rateprobing. T2 is the time interval for waiting for a channel condition toclear when all candidate data rates fail. T3 is the time interval towait until dynamic rate probing is retried with the original data ratesdue to a temporary condition. In one or more embodiments, the values ofT1, T2, and T3 are user-defined variables which can be selected suchthat T3>T2>T1, where T1<10 seconds, T2<10*T2, and T3<100*T2.

The technique proceeds to transmit probe packets or probe transmissionsusing the data rates from the data rate table to determine the maximumdata rate possible in light of the current channel conditions (block502). The probe packet contains a MCS index value which corresponds tothe data rate associated with the number of spatial streams, Nss, andMCS type used in the data rate table. There is a mapping from the Nssand MCS values found in the data rate table to the corresponding MCSindex value used in the probe packet.

If the maximum data rate is achieved and probing is not stuck (block504-no), then the maximum data rate is used for the transmission (block506). For example, probing may be deemed stuck when no ACK message isreceived at a particular data rate and/or the packet error rate (PER)exceeds a 50% threshold. If probing is stuck (block 504-yes), thendynamic rate probing is performed (block 508).

In dynamic rate probing, the candidate data rates, outside of the datarate table, are used in probe packets during time interval, T1 (block508). If probing using all the candidate data rate values fail (block510-yes), then the dynamic probing process is terminated and theoriginal data rate table remains intact. When probing of all thecandidate data rates results in failure, the cause may be attributableto a link budget issue. In this case, dynamic rate probing is re-triedafter T2 time units (block 512) when the stuck condition still sustainsthen.

If there are successful candidate data rates from the original data ratetable (blocks 510-no, 514-yes), then this is related to the Case Twoscenario shown in FIG. 2. In this case, probing was stuck in the spatialstream dimension but the stuck is now relieved. Therefore, the cause ofthe problem must be temporary so the data rate table should be resetwith its original data rates (block 516, block 526). Afterwards, thedata rate probing with the original pre-selected data rates is retried(block 502).

If there are successful candidate data rates and the successfulcandidate data rates were not contained in the original data rate table(blocks 510-no, 514-no), then the successful candidate data rates areloaded into the data rate table (block 518). This situation suggeststhat this stuck case is caused by a semi-permanent device configurationor misplaced errors. For example, if a successful candidate data ratehas Nss=2 and Nss from the original data rate table had Nss=3 whichfailed, then the device may have been inadvertently configured as a 3×3device when the device is actually only capable of operating as a 2×2device. In this situation, the data rate table is reloaded withsuccessful data rates for 2×2 devices (e.g., data rates associated withMCS index values (2,8) and (2,9) in the example of FIG. 3). Since thiserror is semi-permanent, then the process waits T3 time units (block520) to retry the failed data rates from the original data rate table(block 522). If the original data rates succeed (block 524-yes), thenthe semi-permanent condition may have resolved itself and the originaldata rates are restored back to the data rate table (block 526).Otherwise, if the original data rates do not succeed (block 524-no),then the current data rate table remains intact.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method 508 for performing dynamic ratecontrol. It should be noted that the method shown in FIG. 6 may berepresentative of some or all of the operations executed by one or moreembodiments described herein and that the method can include more orless operations than that which is described.

The data rate at which the probing is stuck is identified by the pair(Nss₁, MCS₁) (block 602). The associated probe probability vector forthis pair is obtained for possible candidate data rates. There may bemore than one candidate data rate. The candidate data rate with thehighest probability is chosen and a probe packet is transmitted usingthe candidate data rate (block 606). The probe packet uses a MCS indexvalue. There is a mapping from the combination of the Nss and MCS valuesin the PPV to a corresponding MCS index value that is used in the probepacket.

If the probe is successful (block 608-yes), then the probe probabilityvector (PPV) is updated (block 610). The probability in the PPV of thesuccessful candidate rate is updated with P_(old)+λ1 and the successcounter in the PPV is incremented. If the candidate data rate fails(block 608-no), then the probe probability vector is updated to[P_(old)−λ2] and the success counter in the PPV is not incremented(block 612). The selection process repeats (block 614-no) until the timelimit T1 expires (block 614-yes). By doing this, if a candidate rate issuccessful once, it will have a better chance to be selected in thefuture. Similarly, if a candidate fails once, it will have less chanceto be selected in the future.

Attention now turns to a general discussion of an operating environmentutilizing dynamic probing for rate control. FIG. 7 illustrates a blockdiagram of an exemplary wireless local area network (WLAN) 700configured to implement an IEEE 802.11 communication protocol. Thenetwork 700 may be configured with one or more basic service sets (BSSs)702A, 702N (collectively, “702”) coupled to a distribution system 704.Each BSS 702A, 702N may include several stations (STAS) 706A-706Z(collectively, “706”) and an access point (AP) 708A, 708Ncommunicatively coupled wirelessly through a wireless medium 710. Anaccess point is a station operating as a coordinator of the BSS. Astation within the BSS may communicate with other stations within theBSS. A BSS may be configured as an independent BSS where stationscommunicate with other stations within direct communication range ofeach other. Alternatively, a BSS may be configured as an infrastructureBSS where all communications are relayed through an access point. Thedistribution system 704 provides the communication means for an accesspoint to communicate with other access points in order to deliver framesfor a station within its respective BSS. The distribution system 704 maybe a wired network or a dedicated device that serves as a bridge to abackbone network.

Each station, including an access point, operates in accordance with theIEEE 802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol includes a Media AccessControl (MAC) layer and a physical layer (PHY). The MAC layer managesand maintains communications between the stations in a wireless networkby coordinating access to the shared channel. The PHY layer defines thetransmission techniques used to transmit data through the wirelessmedium. The MAC layer performs the functions of carrier sensing andtransmission and receipt of frames. The MAC layer passes frames to thePHY layer for transmission on the physical wireless media. The framespassed to the PHY layer specify a data rate for transmission, such asthe data rate discussed in the embodiments presented herein.

Attention now turns to a discussion of exemplary wireless devicesconfigured to operate within an IEEE 802.11 wireless network using thetechnology described herein. Various embodiments of the wireless devicemay be implemented using hardware elements, software elements, or acombination of both. Examples of hardware elements may include devices,components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements,integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits,programmable logic devices, digital signal processors, fieldprogrammable gate arrays, memory units, logic gates and so forth.Examples of software elements may include software components, programs,applications, computer programs, application programs, system programs,machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware,software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures,software interfaces, application program interfaces, instruction sets,computing code, code segments, and any combination thereof. Determiningwhether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elements and/orsoftware elements may vary in accordance with any number of factors,such as desired computational rate, power levels, bandwidth, computingtime, load balance, memory resources, data bus speeds and other designor performance constraints, as desired for a given implementation.

Turning to FIG. 8A, there is shown a block diagram of a first embodimentof an exemplary wireless device 800. The wireless device 800 may be anytype of electronic device capable of receiving wireless signals such as,without limitation, a mobile device, a personal digital assistant, amobile computing device, a tablet, a smart phone, a cellular telephone,a handheld computer, a server, a server array or server farm, a webserver, a network server, an Internet server, a work station, amini-computer, a mainframe computer, a supercomputer, a networkappliance, a web appliance, a distributed computing system,multiprocessor systems, or combination thereof. In one or moreembodiments, the wireless device 800 is a WLAN device capable ofoperating in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 specification, such as anaccess point or station shown in FIG. 7.

The wireless device 800 may include at least one or more processors 802,a network interface 804, a memory 806, and a communications module 810communicatively coupled through a communications link 808 (e.g., bus). Aprocessor 802 may be any commercially available processor and mayinclude dual microprocessors and multi-processor architectures. Thenetwork interface 804 facilitates wired and/or wireless communicationsbetween the wireless device 800 and a communications framework. Thenetwork interface 804 includes at least one wireless network interface(e.g., WLAN interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a WiMAX interface, andZigBee® interface, a Wireless USB interface, etc.).

The communications module 810 may include a radio transceiver 812 and amemory 816. The memory 816 may include a rate controller module 818 anda data rate table including probe probability vectors (PPV) 820. Theradio transceiver 812 comprises a packet and a data processing unit forexecuting instructions that receives and transmits packets in accordancewith the IEEE 802.11 radio protocol. The rate controller module 818performs the embodiments described herein. The data rate table/PPV 820is described herein with respect to FIGS. 4-6.

The memories 806, 816 may be any machine-readable storage media that maystore executable procedures, applications, and data. Themachine-readable storage media pertains to non-transitory signals andnot to propagated signals, such as modulated data signals transmittedthrough a carrier wave. Examples of a storage medium may include one ormore types of machine-readable storage media capable of storingelectronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory,removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory,writeable or re-writeable memory, random access memory, read-onlymemory, magnetic storage, optical storage, DVD, CD, floppy disk drive,and the like. The memories 806, 816 may also include one or moreexternal storage devices or remotely located storage devices.

The machine-readable storage media may store various software elements,such as programs, procedures, module, applications, code segments,program stacks, middleware, firmware, methods, routines, and so on. Inan embodiment, for example, a machine-readable storage medium may storeexecutable program instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to perform methods and/or operations in accordancewith the described embodiments. The executable program instructions maybe implemented according to a predefined computer language, manner orsyntax, for instructing a computer to perform a certain function. Theinstructions may be implemented using any suitable high-level,low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpretedprogramming language. The rate controller module 818 and data ratetable/PPV 820 may be implemented as software elements.

Turning to FIG. 8B, there is shown a block diagram of a secondembodiment of an exemplary wireless device 850. The wireless device 850may be any type of electronic device capable of receiving wirelesssignals such as, without limitation, a mobile device, a personal digitalassistant, a mobile computing device, a tablet, a smart phone, acellular telephone, a handheld computer, a server, a server array orserver farm, a web server, a network server, an Internet server, a workstation, a mini-computer, a mainframe computer, a supercomputer, anetwork appliance, a web appliance, a distributed computing system,multiprocessor systems, or combination thereof. In one or moreembodiments, the wireless device 850 is a WLAN device capable ofoperating in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 specification, such as anaccess point or station shown in FIG. 7.

The wireless device 850 may include at least one or more processors 852,a network interface 854, a memory 856, and a radio device 860communicatively coupled through a communications link 858 (e.g., bus). Aprocessor 852 may be any commercially available processor and mayinclude dual microprocessors and multi-processor architectures. Thenetwork interface 854 facilitates wired and/or wireless communicationsbetween the wireless device 850 and a communications framework. Thenetwork interface 854 includes at least one wireless network interface(e.g., WLAN interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a WiMAX interface, andZigBee® interface, a Wireless USB interface, etc.).

The radio device 860 may include a radio transceiver 862, a ratecontroller 864, and a data rate table including probe probabilityvectors 866. The radio transceiver 862 comprises a packet and a dataprocessing unit for executing instructions that receives and transmitspackets in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 radio protocol. The ratecontroller 864 performs the embodiments described herein with respect tothe dynamic rate probing. The data rate table/PPV 866 is hereindescribed with respect to FIGS. 4-6. The rate controller 864 and thedata rate table/PPV 866 may include embodied in hardware elements, suchas devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuitelements, integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits,programmable logic devices, digital signal processors, fieldprogrammable gate arrays, memory units, logic gates and so forth.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

1. A method for dynamic rate adaption in a wireless network, the methodcomprising: selecting a plurality of pre-selected data rates for use intransmitting data in the wireless network, each pre-selected data rateassociated with a number of spatial streams (Nss) and a modulating andcoding (MCS) type, the pre-selected data rates being a subset of alldata rates supported by the wireless network; transmitting one or moreprobe transmissions to detect a maximum achievable data rate from theplurality of pre-selected data rates; determining that the maximumachievable data rate does not meet a threshold criteria; transmittingone or more probe transmissions from a plurality of candidate datarates, each candidate data rate associated with a Nss and MCS type, eachcandidate data rate not being associated with a pre-selected data rate;and if at least one candidate data rate meets the threshold criteria,reconfiguring the pre-selected data rates to include the at least onesuccessful candidate data rate.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: if all candidate data rates fail to meet the thresholdcriteria, leaving the pre-selected data rates intact.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: after waiting a time interval, transmittingone or more probe transmissions from the plurality of candidate datarates.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after waiting atime interval, retrying the pre-selected data rates in probetransmissions; and if at least one of the pre-selected data rates meetsthe threshold criteria, restoring the at least one pre-selected datarate to its original value.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thethreshold criteria is based, at least in part, on a Packet Error Ratemeeting a threshold.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the thresholdcriteria is based, at least in part, on receiving an acknowledgment orblock acknowledgement in response to a probe transmission.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein transmitting one or more probe transmissions from aplurality of candidate data rates, further comprising: associating aprobe probability vector with each pre-selected data rate, the probeprobability vector including one or more candidate data rates, eachcandidate data rate including a probability of success; and selecting acandidate data rate based, at least in part, on a highest probability ofsuccess.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: updating theprobe probability vector based, at least in part, on success or failureof the candidate data rate meeting the threshold criteria in a probetransmission.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-selected datarates are based, at least in part, on offline simulations.
 10. Anon-transitory machine readable storage medium, comprising: a data ratetable including pre-selected data rates for transmitting data in awireless network, the pre-selected data rates being a subset of datarates supported by a wireless protocol, each data rate associated with anumber of spatial streams and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) type;and a rate controller module, including machine-readable instructions,that when executed: uses the data rate table to transmit probetransmissions in search of a maximum achievable data rate from thepre-selected data rates; determines a stuck point at which the probetransmissions using the pre-selected data rates cannot proceed to themaximum achievable data rate; performs one or more probe transmissionsusing candidate data rates outside of the data rate table; trackssuccess or failure of the probe transmissions using candidate data ratesover a first time period; and if the probe transmissions using thecandidate data rates pass a threshold criteria, loads the candidate datarates into the data rate table.
 11. The non-transitory machine readablestorage medium of claim 10, the rate controller module, furtherincluding machine-readable instructions, that when executed: if thecandidate data rates fail a threshold criteria, waits a second timeperiod before retrying one or more probe transmissions using one or morecandidate data rates.
 12. The non-transitory machine readable storagemedium of claim 10, the rate controller module, further includingmachine-readable instructions, that when executed: if a candidate datarate passes a threshold criteria and is a pre-selected data rate,returns to probing using the pre-selected data rates.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, the ratecontroller module, further including machine-readable instructions, thatwhen executed: configures each pre-selected data rate with a probeprobability vector (PPV), the PPV including one or more candidate datarates, each candidate data rate including a probability of success, theprobability of success based on probe transmissions meeting a thresholdcriteria.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 13, the rate controller module, further including machine-readableinstructions, that when executed: selects a candidate data rate based ona probability of success associated with the candidate data rate. 15.The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereineach candidate data rate is configured to increase a select one of theNss or MCS type associated with the pre-selected data rate.
 16. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein thethreshold criteria is based, at least in part, on a packet error rate.17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10,wherein the threshold criteria is based, at least in part, on notreceiving an acknowledgement or block acknowledgement to the probetransmission.
 18. A wireless device, comprising: a radio transceiver toreceive and transmit data via a wireless network; and a rate controllerto determine a maximum achievable data rate for transmission of thedata, the rate controller configured to: use a data rate table totransmit probe transmissions in search of the maximum achievable datarate from pre-selected data rates stored in the data rate table;determine a stuck point at which the probe transmissions cannot proceedto the maximum achievable data rate; perform one or more probetransmissions using candidate data rates outside of the data rate table;track success or failure of the probe transmissions using the candidatedata rates over a first time period; and if the probe transmissionsusing the candidate data rate passes a threshold criteria, loads thecandidate data rates into the data rate table.
 19. The wireless deviceof claim 18, wherein the rate controller is further configured to: ifthe candidate data rates fail a threshold criteria, wait a second timeperiod before retrying one or more probe transmissions using one or morecandidate data rates.
 20. The wireless device of claim 18, wherein therate controller is further configured to: if a candidate data ratepasses a threshold criteria and is a pre-selected data rate, returns totransmitting probe transmissions with the pre-selected data rates. 21.The wireless device of claim 18, wherein the rate controller is furtherconfigured to: configure each pre-selected data rate with a probeprobability vector (PPV), the PPV including one or more candidate datarates, each candidate data rate including a probability of success, theprobability of success based on probe transmissions meeting a thresholdcriteria.
 22. The wireless device of claim 18, wherein the ratecontroller is further configured to: select a candidate data rate basedon a highest probability of success associated with the candidate datarate.
 23. The wireless device of claim 18, wherein the thresholdcriteria is based, at least in part, on a packet error rate.
 24. Thewireless device of claim 18, wherein the threshold criteria is based, atleast in part, on not receiving an acknowledgement or blockacknowledgement to the probe transmission.